Gender diversity and female leadership: Insights from labour societies

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between corporate governance gender diversity and employee productivity (EP) within Spanish labour societies, a core component of the social economy (SE). The primary objective is to determine how gender diversity on boards of directors and executive committees is associated with productivity, while exploring the moderating role of female leadership. Using a quantitative design, we analysed panel data from the ORBIS database for a balanced sample of 1329 labour societies. Fixed‐effects panel regression models, controlling for firm age, capital intensity and leverage, were employed to assess these relationships. Results indicate that both board and executive gender diversity have a positive, statistically significant association with EP. Notably, this relationship is not significantly moderated by the presence of a female chair or CEO. This suggests the benefits of gender heterogeneity are structural and independent of the leader's gender, though a female chair is independently associated with increased productivity. The originality of this research lies in its focus on labour societies, a governance model rarely explored in diversity literature. By investigating gender diversity and leadership within the SE, this study extends existing theories to a participatory business model, offering novel evidence on inclusive governance and firm performance.